Hot Rats
It was a warm summer day when a freight train zoomed passed the two boys. It's whistle boomed as large plumes of exhaust cleared the smoke stack. The train was pulling along with it numerous cargo wagons of which the boys so hastily tried to jump on. The first boy, Jim, a 17 year old corn-country born nomad took off with astounding force and in one swift motion, climbed aboard the passing wagon and slid open its thick metal door. "George get yer ass up here now or never!"
The other boy a tad younger and bulkier was panting," Man fuck this! Why cant we just keep walking!" But Jim was only focused on getting him on the train so with a firm grip on the handle bar he angled himself enough to grab a handful of George's shirt and yanked him on the wagon. They both sat there in stacks of hay gasping for air and laughing at their recklessness.
"Goddamnit George when I say go you gotta move your fatass as fast as possible!"
"Alright alright, im just hungry thats all."
"Dont worry we'll find food over where we're headin, not to mention some fine young girls.."
"This better not be another one of your pipe dreams, im tired of landing in disastrous shit."
Jim rolled his eyes at George's last remark and fell back into the hay not expecting the sudden sharp pain that surged up his back.
"OWWW what the FUCK." Jim rubbed his lower back and furiously looked through the hay only to find a large boot attached to a bony leg to be the culprit. His eyes ran up the uncaring leg and found a waist, a beaten chest and the sullen face of a homeless man smiling back at him through what teeth he had left. "You son of a bitch that hurt alot, I should beat you silly." Jim howled at the bum.
And from the darkest corner of the wagon a voice spoke with concentrated ire,"You should watch who you threat...boy." The voice then revealed itself to be another homeless man but this one was much stronger and nourished than the other. He wore a ragged black overcoat and had long black hair that touched his shoulders, a menacing stare and a large scar running from his chin to his chest. A third man revealed himself as well and that's when Jim and George began to panic. Their fears became real when the three men took hold of them and with a final comment from the scarred man ,"Piss off." were thrown off the moving train into the grimy dirt from whence they came.
Covered in clouds of dust and dirt they groaned, got up, and began walking down the endless set of train tracks. It was about midday when the forest surrounding the boys finally cleared and was replaced by acres and acres of crops. They got off the tracks and walked through the crops until they reached a dirt road that eventually led to an intersection. To the south it said Blackshear 35 miles, Jim smiled,"Were almost there mate."
The boys we're uneducated, homeless, unruly but never whined about labors like this. For they knew what this lifestyle entailed and had grown accustomed even fond of its hardships. If anything true, it in fact helped them develop character and a certain resilience unseen from most young boys their age.
In no time they soon arrived to the township of Blackshear; a dwindling conservative town still desperately clinging unto its heydays long gone in the past. It is true that the world is becoming more and more democratic everyday but this only promoted the stagnation of the town. There main source of income once came from the exploitation of another man through hard labor and now comes from the corruption of women through whore houses which are riddled across the deteriorating town. And so the boys decided to stop by and enjoy the one and only thing the town can offer.
After a few minutes they stood at the steps of Neshaminy Inn, one of the most recognizable brothels around. They entered the gloomy establishment and were immediately confronted by a large white man who in a rude tone announced their arrival. "Ah looky here, a couple of sorry boys looking for a cute girl huh? Well only if you got the penny...and seeing as how y'all are dressed in shit ima have to ask y'all to leave."
But before the man could push them into the streets Jim with a sly look on his face flipped a gold coin whose golden shimmer sent the hick aback. "It's best not to assume such things, sir."
Jim looked back at George and with a victorious smile walked past the guard and into the casino.
"And just what the hell do you think you're gonna do there?" asked George.
"Im gonna spike our money, just watch."
George knew that Jim had a knack for poker but was afraid that his gambling would cost them their meals. But Jim was a stubborn son of a bitch who would throw all his efforts in a given opportunity and so went to exchange his coin for chip. Jim then began to eye out which tables had the serious players. He spotted a table of men whose manner of being, age and demeanor was intimidating. Jim knew that half the game of poker was won through bluff. And so he headed towards the table and sat across the dealer.
There were six players on the river with hearts dominating and no high cards. "Call" crowed a devious looking man in sullen brown plaid with locks of disheveled hair covering a seemingly dead eye. The man noticed Jim examining him and gave him a crooked smile in which his set of gold teeth shimmered in the casino's hazy, drunk setting. He flung six 20 dollar chips and the table responded with two calls and one fold. The men flipped their cards starting with a timid looking man who grinned when he completed the 7 high heart flush. Dead Eye as Jim befittingly named the devious man tossed pocket 8's, defeating the flush with 3's full of 8's. The last man bore failure in his face as he foolishly flipped 2, 6 pair. Dead Eye snorted and proceeded to augment his chip stack.
Jim carefully noted the last man and the underlying reasons as to why he might have called Dead Eye with such a weak hand aside from of course, sheer stupidity. But with no time to go over such hypothetical scenarios the next hand had begun and he was handed 10 of heart and 9 of spade, a fair hand. He threw in for the blind and awaited the action of others, one of which, raised triple. Everyone called and the flop presented it self with 7 of club, ace of diamonds and 9 of club. Jim's hand wasn't all too lousy but he knew someone would have ace's and furthermore the flop voided his chance at a ace high straight unless by miracle a king and queen pop up. In any case, Jim held his eagerness and checked along with four others but was raised by one fat man with beady eyes who's chin was layered in what looked like chicken grease. The raise was minor, 10 dollar chip, a safe bet that Jim was comfortable with which took the pot to 240 dollars. The next card was flipped, 2 of diamonds, useless.
One card was left to flip and it was then that something in Jim's strategy snapped along with the rustle of a girls skirt across the casino hall. "Hey gal... how 'bout you go buy me a drink or two huh?" Jim, cracked a smile at her as he tipped his chair to get a better look at her as she passed by. She turned back at him and said, "Hey boy you better keep your eyes on the game now."She returned the smile and left to get the drinks. Jim took her advice and focused on the game, it was his turn in fact, and everyone was looking at him. "Raise 60 or Fold?" said the dealer, "Huh?" Jim peered down at the last card, 9 of heart. "You know what. Ill take your offer my friend, I raise 150." The fat man snorted at Jim's beaming confidence, "Ill take you up on that Jimmy Boy." Dead Eye raised 100 more and chuckled," Dont be so quick now to lose your lunch money, boy." One man folded, the fat man raised 250 and so did another. Jim was on the blind and with 150 dollars left, raised 100 more. The pot was at 1000 near and the tension between the men was in sight. But Jim kept his attention to the girl that had yet to come with his drinks.
"Show your hands, gentlemen."
One man concluded with two pair of queens and ace's.
The fat man flipped over pocket 10's.
And then Dead Eye showed off, with an ace high straight and sat in his arrogance, victorious.
"Boy you best be taught before you play with men." he cackled at Jim.
And Jim with fury in his corner eye looked him straight in his rotten face and flew off his hands a full house of 9's and spoke, "Aint no one need no lesson, sir. I done learnt long ago."
The girl came back just then with two fine beers in her hand, the dealer then said, "A formidable hand sir." Jim took his coin, his beer, and stood up from the table. "And your other beverage? She asked. "Im drunk as it is Red Lips, that ones for you." She looked at him astonished and before she could object, he took her by the waist and walked to the chip exchange.
George saw Jim and approached him, "That was amazing Jim! How much did you make?"
The man behind the counter counted out fifty 20's and five 50's.
"Enough to buy us a couple drinks and maybe some smokes." He smiled and then George asked," And who are you??" "Yes, my fine lady, what is your name?"
"Elizabeth."
"Well Eliza you can stay here attending rotten old men or you can come with us."
"And what exactly what would we do??'she asked.
"That my dear, is a question I don't know the answer to."
And the three of them walked out of the greasy tavern, out into the shining day, leaving behind them the past, the poison, but never the perils that come with life.
The other boy a tad younger and bulkier was panting," Man fuck this! Why cant we just keep walking!" But Jim was only focused on getting him on the train so with a firm grip on the handle bar he angled himself enough to grab a handful of George's shirt and yanked him on the wagon. They both sat there in stacks of hay gasping for air and laughing at their recklessness.
"Goddamnit George when I say go you gotta move your fatass as fast as possible!"
"Alright alright, im just hungry thats all."
"Dont worry we'll find food over where we're headin, not to mention some fine young girls.."
"This better not be another one of your pipe dreams, im tired of landing in disastrous shit."
Jim rolled his eyes at George's last remark and fell back into the hay not expecting the sudden sharp pain that surged up his back.
"OWWW what the FUCK." Jim rubbed his lower back and furiously looked through the hay only to find a large boot attached to a bony leg to be the culprit. His eyes ran up the uncaring leg and found a waist, a beaten chest and the sullen face of a homeless man smiling back at him through what teeth he had left. "You son of a bitch that hurt alot, I should beat you silly." Jim howled at the bum.
And from the darkest corner of the wagon a voice spoke with concentrated ire,"You should watch who you threat...boy." The voice then revealed itself to be another homeless man but this one was much stronger and nourished than the other. He wore a ragged black overcoat and had long black hair that touched his shoulders, a menacing stare and a large scar running from his chin to his chest. A third man revealed himself as well and that's when Jim and George began to panic. Their fears became real when the three men took hold of them and with a final comment from the scarred man ,"Piss off." were thrown off the moving train into the grimy dirt from whence they came.
Covered in clouds of dust and dirt they groaned, got up, and began walking down the endless set of train tracks. It was about midday when the forest surrounding the boys finally cleared and was replaced by acres and acres of crops. They got off the tracks and walked through the crops until they reached a dirt road that eventually led to an intersection. To the south it said Blackshear 35 miles, Jim smiled,"Were almost there mate."
The boys we're uneducated, homeless, unruly but never whined about labors like this. For they knew what this lifestyle entailed and had grown accustomed even fond of its hardships. If anything true, it in fact helped them develop character and a certain resilience unseen from most young boys their age.
In no time they soon arrived to the township of Blackshear; a dwindling conservative town still desperately clinging unto its heydays long gone in the past. It is true that the world is becoming more and more democratic everyday but this only promoted the stagnation of the town. There main source of income once came from the exploitation of another man through hard labor and now comes from the corruption of women through whore houses which are riddled across the deteriorating town. And so the boys decided to stop by and enjoy the one and only thing the town can offer.
After a few minutes they stood at the steps of Neshaminy Inn, one of the most recognizable brothels around. They entered the gloomy establishment and were immediately confronted by a large white man who in a rude tone announced their arrival. "Ah looky here, a couple of sorry boys looking for a cute girl huh? Well only if you got the penny...and seeing as how y'all are dressed in shit ima have to ask y'all to leave."
But before the man could push them into the streets Jim with a sly look on his face flipped a gold coin whose golden shimmer sent the hick aback. "It's best not to assume such things, sir."
Jim looked back at George and with a victorious smile walked past the guard and into the casino.
"And just what the hell do you think you're gonna do there?" asked George.
"Im gonna spike our money, just watch."
George knew that Jim had a knack for poker but was afraid that his gambling would cost them their meals. But Jim was a stubborn son of a bitch who would throw all his efforts in a given opportunity and so went to exchange his coin for chip. Jim then began to eye out which tables had the serious players. He spotted a table of men whose manner of being, age and demeanor was intimidating. Jim knew that half the game of poker was won through bluff. And so he headed towards the table and sat across the dealer.
There were six players on the river with hearts dominating and no high cards. "Call" crowed a devious looking man in sullen brown plaid with locks of disheveled hair covering a seemingly dead eye. The man noticed Jim examining him and gave him a crooked smile in which his set of gold teeth shimmered in the casino's hazy, drunk setting. He flung six 20 dollar chips and the table responded with two calls and one fold. The men flipped their cards starting with a timid looking man who grinned when he completed the 7 high heart flush. Dead Eye as Jim befittingly named the devious man tossed pocket 8's, defeating the flush with 3's full of 8's. The last man bore failure in his face as he foolishly flipped 2, 6 pair. Dead Eye snorted and proceeded to augment his chip stack.
Jim carefully noted the last man and the underlying reasons as to why he might have called Dead Eye with such a weak hand aside from of course, sheer stupidity. But with no time to go over such hypothetical scenarios the next hand had begun and he was handed 10 of heart and 9 of spade, a fair hand. He threw in for the blind and awaited the action of others, one of which, raised triple. Everyone called and the flop presented it self with 7 of club, ace of diamonds and 9 of club. Jim's hand wasn't all too lousy but he knew someone would have ace's and furthermore the flop voided his chance at a ace high straight unless by miracle a king and queen pop up. In any case, Jim held his eagerness and checked along with four others but was raised by one fat man with beady eyes who's chin was layered in what looked like chicken grease. The raise was minor, 10 dollar chip, a safe bet that Jim was comfortable with which took the pot to 240 dollars. The next card was flipped, 2 of diamonds, useless.
One card was left to flip and it was then that something in Jim's strategy snapped along with the rustle of a girls skirt across the casino hall. "Hey gal... how 'bout you go buy me a drink or two huh?" Jim, cracked a smile at her as he tipped his chair to get a better look at her as she passed by. She turned back at him and said, "Hey boy you better keep your eyes on the game now."She returned the smile and left to get the drinks. Jim took her advice and focused on the game, it was his turn in fact, and everyone was looking at him. "Raise 60 or Fold?" said the dealer, "Huh?" Jim peered down at the last card, 9 of heart. "You know what. Ill take your offer my friend, I raise 150." The fat man snorted at Jim's beaming confidence, "Ill take you up on that Jimmy Boy." Dead Eye raised 100 more and chuckled," Dont be so quick now to lose your lunch money, boy." One man folded, the fat man raised 250 and so did another. Jim was on the blind and with 150 dollars left, raised 100 more. The pot was at 1000 near and the tension between the men was in sight. But Jim kept his attention to the girl that had yet to come with his drinks.
"Show your hands, gentlemen."
One man concluded with two pair of queens and ace's.
The fat man flipped over pocket 10's.
And then Dead Eye showed off, with an ace high straight and sat in his arrogance, victorious.
"Boy you best be taught before you play with men." he cackled at Jim.
And Jim with fury in his corner eye looked him straight in his rotten face and flew off his hands a full house of 9's and spoke, "Aint no one need no lesson, sir. I done learnt long ago."
The girl came back just then with two fine beers in her hand, the dealer then said, "A formidable hand sir." Jim took his coin, his beer, and stood up from the table. "And your other beverage? She asked. "Im drunk as it is Red Lips, that ones for you." She looked at him astonished and before she could object, he took her by the waist and walked to the chip exchange.
George saw Jim and approached him, "That was amazing Jim! How much did you make?"
The man behind the counter counted out fifty 20's and five 50's.
"Enough to buy us a couple drinks and maybe some smokes." He smiled and then George asked," And who are you??" "Yes, my fine lady, what is your name?"
"Elizabeth."
"Well Eliza you can stay here attending rotten old men or you can come with us."
"And what exactly what would we do??'she asked.
"That my dear, is a question I don't know the answer to."
And the three of them walked out of the greasy tavern, out into the shining day, leaving behind them the past, the poison, but never the perils that come with life.
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